This weekend four of the six NC Ski Areas and Resorts are open for the 2011-2012 season. After several false starts and the best efforts of the snow making machines, Mother Nature finally brought the requisite consistent cold temperatures this week.
Cataloochee was the first to open for the season with day skiing on
November 12 and 13, thanks to a few days of cooler weather allowing temporary snow making. The following weekend both Cataloochee and Sugar Mountain were able to offer day skiing with a limited number of slopes and lifts open. Warmer temperatures returned followed by an inversion and all Skiing was closed for the Thanksgiving weekend and the following week.
Skiing in North Carolina has always required man-made snow. Each year the Ski Areas add to or upgrade their snowmaking capabilities. But even state-of-the-art snow machines can't do it all. A minimum of 36 to 48 hours of below freezing temperatures are need to properly prepare the slopes to begin building a usable snow surface. The last two years in NC have seen record early cold weather allowing longer ski seasons than usual with earlier starts and skiing well into March.
This weekend Cataloochee Ski Area, Sugar Mountain Resort, Beech Mountain Ski Resort and Appalachian Ski Mountain are all open for day time skiing on 40-60% of their slopes and bases of 6 inches to 45 inches. Sugar Mountain is host to the annual SugarFest and Appalachian is celebrating its official 50th season opening. Sapphire Valley Ski Area is hoping to open on December 17 and Wolf Ridge Ski Resort has not yet announced an opening date.Get links for all NC Ski Areas and Resorts and
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